Disclaimer: I own no part of The Twilight Saga or any of its characters. All rights are reserved to the author, Stephenie Meyer.

Author's Note: This is a story I've had in my head for a very long time. This isn't the first time I've attempted to write this, but it is the first time I've posted it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing this. I have just a few warnings before we begin. First off, these vampires are mine, and not the ones you're all probably used to. Second, this story isn't a gentle walk in the park. It gets pretty fucking angsty, don't be fooled by the slightly cheery first chapter. [Edit: The first chapter was over 8,000 words, so I split in half.]

Chapter Song: Everyday is Exactly the Same by Nine Inch Nails

Chapter 1: In Medias Res

I saw the world before me appear from behind tired eyelids. Taking a quick glance at my alarm clock alerted me that I had had another four hours night sleep. Being only five in the morning, I was utterly aware of the fact that I had two hours to get ready for school. Heaving a sigh, I removed myself from the mess of the covers tangled around me. I dragged my feet to the bathroom, feeling every bone in my body. With a drawn out yawn, my arms moved to strip myself as if on impulse. My mind seemed to be turning into an undefined mush. My hands were quick to turn on the faucet, but my body lingered outside of the shower stall, staring at my oversized bathroom with glassy eyes. I supposed some people would consider me lucky. I was, like my other two siblings, adopted by two very great people, people who were my late parents' oldest friends. But all of this, the glass, walk-in shower, the expensive black marble floor, the light teal walls, and the oversized counter with the squared off sink, was just excess. I didn't feel lucky, I didn't feel blessed, I felt…uneasy. As if this fortune was merely an apology for the shitty childhood I had endured. My feet kicked aside my discarded clothes lying in a clump on the floor and stepped into the wall of steam. Hot showers were one of the things I lived for. I went through the motions of cleaning myself with care, purposely wasting time. I hated waiting. Being as impatient as I am, extra time was a serious aggravation. And so, with this thought lingering in my head, I grabbed my straightedge and shaving cream, smearing it across my face. I looked into the foggy mirror, quickly whipping the hand that wasn't covered in shaving cream across it to defog the glass. Line after line I swept the razor over my skin. I had requested of Esme to put this mirror in the shower for me. I loathed sink shaving. It left a mess I wasn't always so willing to clean, especially with a straightedge razor. I cleaned my face off once I was finished, smiling slightly at the much younger face looking back at me. Bella would be pleased. She had been begging me to get rid of my stubble for the last week.

I quickly finished in the shower, taking extra time to rinse everything off. I grabbed the deep blue towel off its wrack and wrapped it tightly around my hips, letting the left over water on my body slide into the soft cloth. Padding my way out of the bathroom and to my closet, I let my mind wander again. My social studies, advanced calculus, and my American Literature tests were all today, explaining my late nights. A sigh slipped through my tense mouth. I understood the purpose of good grades, of course, but I hated not having any time to myself, or to my girlfriend of two years. I felt bad about that. I had to make it up to her somehow, and with a terrifying lurch of my body, I realized it was her birthday. She was 17 today and I hadn't bought her a thing. My heart started to thump loudly in my chest. Irrationally, I wondered if I would have enough time to go out and buy her something before school started. I found myself rushing to pull on a pair of jeans and white tee before my sleep deprived mind finally clicked into gear. Newman's flower shop was open at 6 and Alice…yes, this was all coming together quite nicely. I threw on a black button down shirt, pulled on an old pair of black high-top Chucks, and spent a good fifteen minutes trying to find my Carhartt, before realizing I had hung it up downstairs. Grabbing my cell phone, I checked the time. It was only 5:45, leaving me with plenty of time to work my plan out. My legs pulled me agilely down the two sets of stairs and into the front hall of my adoptive parents' mansion. I grabbed my coat and the keys to my Volvo and hurried into the cavernous garage.

It only took me ten minutes to get to Newman's and I even had to wait outside until the tired looking woman pulled up in her old champagne colored Camry. She was old, white haired, and wore a long floral dress that covered up an aging body. Not wanting to startle the poor woman, I waited outside for a few moments to let her get situated. I took my time in the store, trying to find a bouquet that I thought Bella would like. I knew she like daisies. She spent a lot of her time when we were children picking them. I remembered her fondly, putting them into her long brown hair and commanding me to call her a princess. With a smile, I grabbed the biggest one they had. It was a variation of stained daisies with every color of the rainbow. I was nervous after I paid that she wouldn't like them. Bella wasn't always the easiest to buy presents for. I sighed, resigned to whatever fate these flowers would give me and set them delicately into the front seat of my car.

I pulled my car into the garage, right next to my father's black Mercedes. I was hoping that Alice would be awake. I was answered quickly when I opened the door that led to the huge, shiny kitchen. There, crowded around the island bar, was my entire family. Alice and Emmett were arguing about something and Esme was handing them their breakfast with disapproving eyes. My father was seated at the end closest to me, drinking a cup of coffee out of a mug with a family portrait of us stamped on it like a blurry porcelain photo, and was reading over some patient's file with a creased forehead. At my entrance, they all turned to look at me. Alice rolled her eyes and Emmett gave me a fleeting smile. Carlisle, after noticing it was his son and not an intruder, turned his face back to his work. Esme, on the other hand, turned her disapproving glare from her two other children onto me.

"So nice of you to join us," she said. Her eyes were tight and her mouth was set into a worried little frown. "Where have you been?"

"Newman's." I said this at the time Alice muttered, "He forgot Bella's birthday."

My throat felt a little dry at her comment, but I always knew to count on Alice knowing things she shouldn't.

"Oh, Edward," Esme said, "Well, at least you got her something. Here, eat some breakfast. You look hungry…and tired." Her gentle hands were holding my face as I sat down at the island. I shrugged out of her hands as politely as I could. I didn't enjoy making her worry.

"I'm fine, Esme." I dug into my plate of eggs and bacon, and looked over at my sister who was eating Lucky Charms. I would never understand how she could give up bacon just to save a few helpless animals. "Hey, Alice," I started, purposely taking a large bite of my protein filled breakfast as soon as she looked at me. Her expression soured right away. "I was wondering if you could distract Bella this afternoon so I could go to Port Angeles and grab her something."

She looked at the ceiling with obvious irritation. "Lucky for you, Edward, I was planning on going to her house after school to help her pick out her outfit for the party tonight. But believe me; it's not for your benefit."

"Perfect. Don't say anything to her or I'll skin you alive." I knew better than to ask about the party in front of our unsuspecting parents.

Carlisle came alive then; the only word he seemed to hear was party. "What party?"

I was careful to keep my eyes on the food I was eating, letting Alice answer. "Oh, it's nothing, Carlisle. We're just going out to Port Angeles with a couple of our friends to see a movie and then go have dinner afterwards." Alice flashed him a smile. She was a tiny 4 feet and 10 inches and looked like a little pixy with her short black hair, spiked in organized disarray. Usually, Carlisle was putty in her tiny hands, but not today, apparently.

"You think I'm falling for that?" He asked, offended. I knew what the problem was. Alice was like a happy little Christmas elf. She was trusting and delicate and only 17. So, when she started to see the 21 year old James, everyone in this family was on edge, even happy-go-lucky Emmett. All of our minds seemed to be in the same place. Alice was instantly on edge, realizing what this was really about. Carlisle wasted no time in getting to the point, "Is James going to this party?"

"Carlisle, I'm almost an adult. You can't force me to not see him. I love him!" My sister never looked or sounded more like a child.

"Exactly! You are almost an adult, Alice. But, never once have I told you who you can and cannot be involved with. I'm allowed to worry about you, aren't I?" Carlisle's face softened, and he became unusually emotional, "I know I'm not your real father. I will never pretend to be, but I love you like you're my own. I just want the best for you and for all my children." I saw Esme out of the corner of my eye hiding a tearful smile behind a dish that needed washing. I looked at Carlisle quickly, not wanting him to see how much his words had touched me. Alice seemed to be doing the same thing. Her eyes dropped and she went back to eating her cereal in silence.

Eventually, she managed to collect herself, her eyes returning to the man who raised her since she was four. "I love you, too, you know. We'll be careful, tonight. I promise."

That was the end of the conversation, and I noticed that Emmett had been quite the entire time. This was quite out of character for my brother. I had almost forgotten he was here. I glanced up at him and saw that he was pushing his food around his plate, not really eating. I was confused again; he was being really strange today.

The three of us headed to my Volvo in silence. It wasn't until we were speeding down the road that I finally turned to my brother sitting in the passenger's seat next to me. "Hey, uh, Em? Are you okay today?"

He pursed his lips, seemingly debating on whether to answer or not. Eventually, he muttered, "I just got a bad feeling. About tonight, I mean. You ever get one of those?"

Alice answered for me. "Yes. Don't worry though it's probably nothing."

He smiled a little at her, "Okay."

"So, what is going on tonight?" I asked.

"We're going to a bar. James is sneaking us in. He works as a bouncer," Alice was happily bouncing in the back seat.

I clenched my teeth. Of course James was involved.

I sat down at lunch feeling a thousand times less stressed out. All three of my tests were taken. Bella was already there, her faced stuffed into the daisies I had bought for her. She smiled exuberantly as I sat.

"I can't thank you enough for these, Edward. They're beautiful," Bella said. Her large brown eyes were almost glowing.

"You're very welcome, my love." I leaned in and kissed her strawberry scented hair.

Alice leaned on the table, her tiny fingers clasped together with excitement. "So, birthday girl, are you excited for tonight."

"I probably would be if I knew what was going on." Bella's eyebrows lowered slightly.

I laughed at her, "Trust me, you'll like it."

The rest of the school day passed uneventfully. My advanced chemistry class and gym passed in a blur, mainly because of Bella's presence in both subjects. Gym was hilarious, as usual. My girlfriend was talented in many things, but athletics was not one of them. She stumbled around and even managed to accidently throw a basketball into Mike Newton's nuts. Had I not known her sense of aim better, I would have thought she did it on purpose for all the times he followed her like a puppy in heat.

At the end of the day, I kissed Bella goodbye. She still seemed a little mad at me for laughing at her earlier, but she was as enthusiastic as usual when we kissed. Her hands tangled in my overgrown hair, and she pushed her body against me, her hips scraping against mine in ways that drove me insane. I broke away before things got out of hand in our school parking lot.

"Can I have my other present now?" she asked impatiently.

I laughed at her pouting lip, and ran my finger across it as I spoke. "Be patient, baby."

"Right, because you, of all people, are so patient." Her eyes narrowed accusingly. My accompanying smile was only a tiny bit worried. I still didn't even know what I was getting her. The sick, nervous feeling had returned to my stomach as I thought about this. Fortunately, for me, she didn't seem to notice. "So, I'll see you tonight?"

"Seven o'clock sharp. You're meeting at my house anyway," I said, grateful for the change in subject.

"Oh, yeah."

After one last kiss between us, Emmett and I left in the Volvo and Bella and Alice left in her old Chevy truck, just as Alice promised. Emmett seemed to be in a better mood than this morning.

"So, Edward, did you figure out what you're getting her yet?" he asked.

"Not yet, man."

"Well, actually I was hoping to hitch a ride. If I help you, will you buy me dinner?" he asked.

I laughed at him. "Anything for free food, huh, dude?"

He rolled his eyes, "I actually wanted to pick up the new WWE game, the 2014 one. It looks sick."

"Ah. The truth comes out." I pulled a cigarette out of my pocket and lit it. I handed him the pack. "Want one?"

"What are you a rebel now? You're supposed to be the good one." He took one, regardless of his words. Emmett had been smoking since he was sixteen.

"What can I say? They help me think." I muttered. I only started a month ago out of pure curiosity. Emmett was a year older than my seventeen years, so he could buy them for me. "You tell the folks, and I'm breaking that WWE game."

"Hey, man. We're in this together. Does Bella know?" His voice was slightly muffled by the smoke.

"Are you kidding? She smelled it on me during the first week." She hadn't been very happy, but in a weird way, I think she liked it. She said something about my bad boy side being hot. I had rolled my eyes at her, but I was happy she wasn't too upset about it. I enjoyed smoking a little more than I should. Emmett laughed at that. The rest of the hour long drive passed quickly and we got there by 3:30. Foregoing his promise, Emmett went off on his own to the GameStop in the little strip mall. I ventured father into the city, looking into the windows of all sorts of different stores. I winded up outside a very small jewelry store. I wondered if it would be too much to buy her something that expensive. I was always very wealthy, even before my parents died. Being their only son, I inherited their entire fortune. Of course, I didn't have access to it until my next birthday. I didn't really need it though. Carlisle and Esme had more money than they knew what to do with. Carlisle was a well known surgeon in Seattle where he practiced, and before that he had his own fortune passed down to him from his father who was also a doctor. Bella, on the other hand, never had much money. Her father, Charlie Swan was the police chief of Forks, Washington, the little town we lived in. Bella didn't even know her mother. She left the two of them when Bella was only a baby. The Chief didn't exactly break banks with his paychecks and I think it made Bella a little uncomfortable knowing that I had so much money.

I figured that if I got her something on the less expensive side she would be more accepting of whatever I got her. With that thought I decided against the jewelry store, wandering farther down the road, still looking. I knew she loved to cook, but I didn't really want to get her kitchen supplies. That would be kind of lame. She also liked music, but I wanted to get her something more than a CD. Then it hit me. I could get her a turntable. I remembered that she loved the vinyl collection I had. Feeling satisfied, I wandered back to the small music store I had passed a little ways back. I found one that looked suitable for her. It was black with a clear case and it came with a diamond tip needle which was a plus. I grabbed her some of her favorite albums too, because, after all, what's a record player without records?

I dropped my things off at the car and sent a text to Emmett letting him know I was done with my shopping. He responded saying that he was already waiting for me at McDonalds. I chuckled and headed that way.

We made it back to Forks only a few minutes before Alice and Bella arrived and I had to scramble to put all of the things I had bought her in the oversized gift bag I managed to find, stuffing wrapping paper in around it. I heard the thunderous rumbling of Bella's old Chevy coming from the driveway and I hurried to throw away all of the extra scraps. Alice walked through the door first, her eyes meeting mine questioningly, clearly wondering about the gift situation. I nodded my head quickly, in response. Bella walked in next. She was wearing a tight, dark blue dress with long sleeves. It came just below her ass and I couldn't help but stare at her. She was stunning. Bella hardly wore makeup, and quite frankly, she didn't need to, but today she was all dolled up. I was no expert on makeup by any standards, but her eyes were darker and her lips were this pretty shade of pink. I wanted to kiss her, but I was afraid of messing it all up. She sauntered over to me and I could tell that she felt sexy. Just the way she was carrying herself was a thousand times more confident. Her small arms wrapped around me and she buried her head in my chest. I kissed her hair gently, afraid of messing that up too.

"Are you ready for your present?" I whispered.

She looked up at me, excited. "I can finally have it now?"

I laughed at her, and touched the tip of her nose. "Yes." I grabbed the large silver bag and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up at the size of it and took it from me happily. I watched her move to sit on the large white sectional and place her present on the glass coffee table, holding my breath. I really hoped she liked it. It only took her a few seconds to pull all of the tissue paper off and pull out the box that held the turntable. She took one glance at the large picture printed on the top and nearly dropped it in her shock.

"Oh my god. Edward! Oh my god!" Her eyes were wide and she eagerly dug into the bag for the three albums. I chuckled, relieved. I saw Alice smile at me, widely. Emmett came sprinting down the stairs loudly, wanting to see her open her presents. He smiled at her excitement like I did and walked over to her.

"Hey, Bella! Nice, Edward. Good sav-job." He quickly corrected himself before getting me in trouble and plopped himself on the couch. I was grateful for the catch. Emmett handed Bella a small, badly wrapped gift. It was awkwardly shaped and I wondered what it was. Bella seemed confused too, but she sent him a quick thanks and opened the odd present. It was a hot pink shot glass that had the word 'Princess' scrawled across it in black cursive. I laughed, as did Bella.

"This is great, Emmett! Thanks." She hugged him, her tiny arms not even reaching the entire way around his huge frame. His eyes sparkled at her praise and he ruffled her hair. Alice almost growled at him for that one. She turned to me then.

"Okay," she said, "Everyone else is meeting us there at eight, and it's almost seven now. We should get going."

I nodded my head, "So, who's driving home?" Considering we were going to a bar, I had a feeling no one would be safe to drive.

"Um," she hesitated, biting her lip.

"Oh, come on, Alice! I'm not letting him drive my car!"

"Would you rather yourself driving it home and getting in an accident or getting pulled over? Please, Edward. He's not going to drink," she begged.

I sighed, and agreed grudgingly. I didn't like the idea of Alice's shitty boyfriend touching my car, let alone driving it. But, I did it for Bella. I wanted her to have fun on her birthday without having to worry about anything. We left, and I grabbed Bella's things so she would have them for when she got home tonight. Emmett called shotgun and climbed in next to me. Alice started handing out fake IDs once we were safely out of the town limits. I looked at her questioningly.

"I thought you said…."

She cut me off, "Just in case." Her smile was bright. "I like to keep all my bases covered."

I chuckled, saying, "You think of everything, don't you?"

"I try my best."

"Why do we need these?" Bella was studying her fake ID with growing excitement.

"We'll be there in a half hour. Be patient!" Alice scolded her. Bella grumbled to herself in response. Alice was right though, we would be there in no more than thirty minutes. The road rushed underneath my accelerating car and the center yellow line seemed to stretch on endlessly. I heard the chatting of the girls behind me, the music playing softly in the background, the shuffling of my brother as he pulled out his iPod, and all of it made a slight bubble of panic build in my throat, as if this would be the last time I would be with them like this. I briefly regretted not waiting until my parents returned so I could hug them goodbye. Where did that come from? I wondered briefly. I shook my head, willing the unease from my system. During my mental cleanse, I remembered the look on Emmett's face this morning and the sound of his distraught voice, "I just got a bad feeling. About tonight, I mean." I wondered if he was still feeling that way and chanced a glance at him. His eyes were down on his device, but after sensing my glance, he looked up at me, smiling. After a quick second, he seemed to see something in my face.

"You okay, dude?" His smile fell.

"Yeah…I just –"

"Edward, look out!" Alice screamed.

A/N: Hope you liked it. Reviews are happily accepted, even criticism.